The Hard Summer Music Festival drew about 147,000 people to Auto Club Speedway in Fontana (San Bernardino County).

The Hard Summer Music Festival drew about 147,000 people to Auto Club Speedway in Fontana (San Bernardino County).

Photo: John Valenzuela, Associated Press

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The second day of the Hard Summer Music Festival in Fontana (San Bernardino County). Three people died at the weekend rave, including a San Francisco man.

The second day of the Hard Summer Music Festival in Fontana (San Bernardino County). Three people died at the weekend rave, including a San Francisco man.

Photo: Francine Orr, TNS

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Deaths at SoCal rave a reminder of danger that can come in waves

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The deaths of three people, including a San Francisco man, at a massive Southern California rave over the weekend are stark reminders of the potential danger of mixing so-called party drugs with a hot, exhausting dance scene that stretches for hours, emergency care and public health experts said Tuesday.

It’s not yet known whether San Francisco resident Derek Lee, 22, and two other guests at the Hard Summer Music Festival died from drug overdoses, or whether intoxication was a contributing factor. Another six people attending the two-day party in Fontana (San Bernardino County) were hospitalized.

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The Bay Area hasn’t seen a similar outbreak in rave-related injuries or deaths in some time, emergency care officials said. The last major incident was in 2010, during an event at the Cow Palace in Daly City, when one man died after an ecstasy overdose and nine people were hospitalized.

But raves are still put on in the area, and many young people attend the parties in other parts of the state and country. Though not every rave leads to large numbers of overdoses or medical emergencies, such outbreaks aren’t uncommon.

Sometimes, it seems, they occur in waves, said Dr. Keith Humphreys, a Stanford addiction expert.

“The thing about young people is that they’re faddish, and they don’t have much historical memory,” Humphreys said. “So these drugs kind of wax and wane. People move out of a phase, they get a job and a spouse and a family, and there’s a new 19-year-old behind them that’s like, ‘What’s this drug?’

“A couple more months and it might die off,” he said. “And then a few more years and it’ll be back again.”

The Hard Summer Music Festival, headlined by Ice Cube and Major Lazer, drew about 147,000 people. Nearly 600 law enforcement officers patrolled the rave and authorities made 325 arrests over the weekend, mainly for drug-related offenses, according to San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department officials.

Festival organizers had three emergency physicians and 20 nurses staffing the event, plus dozens of other medics, said spokeswoman Alexandra Greenberg.

“We were deeply saddened to learn about the deaths of three people who attended the festival this weekend,” Greenberg said in a statement. “While the causes of the deaths have not yet been determined, we ask everyone to keep them in their prayers. Our sincerest thoughts and condolences are with their family and friends.”

The deaths weren’t a first for the Hard Summer festival, which was forced out of Los Angeles County after two people suffered fatal overdoses at last year’s event. The rave previously had been held at the Pomona fairgrounds and was moved to the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana.

After the Cow Palace overdoses in 2010, strong public outcry put an end to raves there. Emergency room physicians attended public meetings, talking about the deaths and permanent injuries that resulted from overdoses. Police and public health authorities talked about the drain on resources when they had to respond to emergencies at parties.

Among those calling for a ban was Adrienne Tissier, a San Mateo County supervisor. Six years later, she said, the effort seems to have been effective. Though the focus of the push was to end raves at the Cow Palace, it put a damper on similar events throughout the region, she said.

“I feel like we made some inroads,” Tissier said. “Do these things still happen? I’m sure they do, underground. But we’ll continue to do as much as we can to dissuade the venues from these kinds of parties.”

The drugs of choice at raves are stimulants, usually ecstasy or a similar synthetic drug. Aside from the high people get from the drugs, they can feel energized — able to dance and party for hours on end.

And therein lies the danger, doctors say. People who are injured or die from drug use at raves typically suffer from hyperthermia — an extended, extreme increase in body temperature. That overheating can lead to muscle damage and organ failure.

Drug users can become dehydrated if they don’t drink enough water. Or, ironically, they can over-hydrate, leading to an electrolyte imbalance that can be just as deadly.

Raves can become stiflingly hot, particularly if they’re poorly ventilated or if too many people are crowded onto a dance floor. Plus, if people are buying drugs at the party, they may end up with a pill laced with something they didn’t intend to take, like cocaine or methamphetamine, and inadvertently overdose.

Festival organizers have a responsibility to protect attendees, said Mitchell Gomez, national outreach director with DanceSafe, a nonprofit that promotes health and safety for people at clubs and raves. Organizers should have a plan in place that includes plenty of water, on-site police and medical personnel, and easy access to treatment, he said.

Still, there is no safe way to consume stimulants like ecstasy at these big events, doctors said. Hard Summer festival organizers said they did take steps to protect attendees — not only hiring police and medical staff, but also providing free water and places for people to rest and cool off.

“In the rave scenario, where everyone is partying and it’s hot and you’re not keeping hydrated, or you’re over-hydrated, I don’t think there’s a way to completely avoid the inherent risk of these drugs,” said Dr. Craig Smollen, co-medical director of the San Francisco division of California Poison Control and an emergency physician at San Francisco General Hospital.

People should try to be mindful of taking regular breaks from dancing, and trying to cool off, Smollen said. They should make sure they’re drinking water but be mindful of over-drinking, too.

And friends should look out for each other and seek help if someone seems to be in trouble, Smollen said.

“It’s tricky because these are drugs that can make you altered, so it’s hard to know whether you’re seeing a drug effect or a serious side effect,” Smollen said. “The best I can say, if someone is developing progressively altered mental status, if they’re extraordinarily hot, if they’ve passed out and they’re having convulsions — those would be concerning symptoms.”